No. 23 Florida State (4-0, 2-0 ACC) will host No. 22 Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in game that will air nationally on ABC. The Seminoles are a seven-point favorite heading into the game. Dave Pasch will handle the play-by-play duties and will be joined in the booth by analyst Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill on the sidelines. The weather forecast for Saturday afternoon calls for partly sunny skies with temperatures in the low to mid-80s at kickoff.

Wake Forest 44 VMI 10

Wake Forest (A) 45 Vanderbilt 25

Wake Forest 37 Liberty 36

Wake Forest 45 Clemson 51

Deacs By the Numbers (FBS Rank/Per Game Average)

Offensive Numbers:

Rushing Offense-104th at 123.5 YPG

Passing Offense-16th at 314 YPG

Total Offense-52nd at 437.5 YPG

Scoring Offense-14th at 42.8 PPG

Sacks Allowed-91st at 2.5 PG

TFL's Allowed-82nd at 5.75 PG

Defensive Numbers:

Rushing Defense-68th at 141.2 YPG

Passing Defense-79th at 237.2 YPG

Total Defense-72nd at 378.5 YPG

Scoring Defense-93rd at 30.5 PPG

Sacks Made-35th at 2.5 PG

TFLs Made-22nd at 7.25 PG

Dave Clawson is in his ninth season leading the Wake Forest program, where he has compiled a 54-49 record and made the Demon Deacons competitive year-in and year-out in the ACC. Clawson has an overall record of 144-129 in his 23 years as a head coach with stops at Bowling Green (2009-2013), Richmond (2004-2007) and Fordham (1999-2003). Those 144 career wins make Clawson the 15th winningest active coach in the country. He has led the Demon Deacons to a school-record six straight bowl games. Clawson is already the second winningest coach in Wake Forest history.

Warren Ruggiero has been with Clawson at Wake Forest since 2014 and is in his sixth season as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. He held the same role for Clawson at Bowling Green from 2009-2013. Other stops for Ruggiero included Kansas State (2008), Elon (2006-2007), Hofstra (2000-2005), William & Mary and Glenville State. Last season Ruggiero was a finalist for the Broyles Award.

Veteran coach Brad Lambert is in his first season as Clawson's defensive coordinator. Lambert has been coaching college football since 1988. This is his second stint at Wake Forest, having served as the team's linebackers coach and/or defensive coordinator under Jim Grobe from 2001-2010. His most recent stop before joining the Wake staff this past offseason was at Purdue, where he was the defensive coordinator last season. He has also done stints at Marshall (2019-2020), UNC-Charlotte (head coach 2011-2018), Georgia (1996-2000), Marshall and Oklahoma.

Redshirt junior quarterback Sam Hartman (6-1, 210) is the straw that stirs the drink that is Wake's high-octane big play offense. After missing Wake's opener because of a medical condition, Hartman has picked up right where he left off in 2021. He has completed 64 of 100 pass attempts for 962 yards this season with 13 touchdowns against just two interceptions. Despite throwing the ball just 47 percent of the time this season they have been very successful with Hartman and his wide receiver corps producing big play after big play. Wake ranks 14th in the FBS in pass plays over 20 yards (20), 8th in pass plays over 30 yards (11) and 7th in pass plays over 40 yards (6). Hartman is also instrumental in how he carries out the Demon Deacons' unique running game, which features a very deliberate and patient read at the mesh point while he reads the defense to determine whether he gives the ball to the running back or takes it out of his belly and throws. He is the top-rated passer in the ACC and the 8th-rated passer in the FBS. Like FSU's offense and Jordan Travis, the Wake offense runs through and is generally only successful as Hartman is. And so far this season, Hartman's arm is more important than ever in setting up Wake Forest for success on the ground.

Redshirt junior wide receiver AT Perry (6-5, 205) is Hartman's favorite target and the most recognizable name after his signal caller but he is just one of several talented pass catchers Wake will utilize. Perry leads the team in catches (16) and receiving yards (273). He also draws double coverage because of his ability and size and that has made Wake's other wide receivers just that much more productive. Sophomore Jahmal Banks (6-4, 208) has been just as productive as Perry. Banks is second on the team with 15 catches for 238 yards with five of those resulting in touchdowns including four over the last two games. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Morin is tied with Perry with 16 catches, where he has totaled 156 yards. Twelve different wide receivers have caught at least one pass from a Wake Forest quarterback this season and six receivers have at least eight receptions in 2022.

Wake Forest has struggled to find consistency and steady production in the running game, but it did run with some effect against Clemson. Wake ran for 110 yards against the vaunted Tiger front, especially late in the game, which made its passing game just that much more effective. Clemson had given up just 79 combined yards on the ground vs. Louisiana Tech and Georgia Tech. Sophomore Justice Ellison (5-10, 208) and redshirt junior Christian Turner (5-11, 200) split time besides Hartman in the backfield. Both run with very good balance and patience. Ellison leads the team with 196 yards on 52 carries and Turner has run for 179 yards on 41 carries. Outside of blocking, neither has been much of a factor in the passing game, where they have combined for just five catches.

You wouldn't know it by the sacks and TFLs allowed, but Wake Forest has one of the most experienced offensive lines in college football with the starting five of redshirt senior Je'Vionte Nash (6-3, 305), redshirt sophomore DeVonte Gordon (6-5, 308), redshirt senior Sean Maginn (6-3, 305), senior Loic Nya (6-3, 307) and redshirt junior Michael Jurgens (6-4, 296) having appeared in 192 combined career games.

Wake will show both odd- and even-front looks defensively under Lambert and they will bring pressure from all three levels against the pass and the run from their base 4-2-5 personnel grouping. While they rank in the middle to bottom half of all of college football in most major statistical categories, they are among the best teams in college football at getting to the quarterback and making tackles behind the line of scrimmage when defending the run. That has been a double-edge sword for Wake though as they rank 112th in the country in plays given up of 20 yards or more (23) and 110th in giving up plays of 30 yards or more (11). Twenty-five of the 34 plays of 20 yards or more have been given up through the air. They have been much better against the run where they have only allowed 13 plays of ten yards or more.

The leaders on the defensive line are redshirt senior tackle Kobie Turner (6-3, 290) and redshirt junior defensive end Rondell Bothroyd (6-4, 265). Turner, who was a three-time all-conference performer at Richmond before transferring to Wake, has 16 tackles on the season with 4 TFLs, which ranks second on the team. Bothroyd, who has played in 38 career games, is a returning starter who has 13 total tackles including 2.5 sacks and 2.5 TFL's this season. He also leads the team with five QB pressures.

Wake has two very active and productive linebackers in senior Ryan Smenda (6-2, 235) and junior Chase Jones (6-1, 231). Smenda is second on the team with 27 tackles and QB pressures (4). Jones is fourth on the team with 19 tackles including 2.5 TFL's.

The most active member of the Wake defense is sophomore safety Malik Mustapha (5-10, 205) who leads the team with 27 tackles and 4.5 TFLs. He is also tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks. Mustapha originally signed with Richmond out of high school and transferred to Wake after the 2020-21 FCS season. He played in 13 games last season for Wake Forest. Junior cornerback Chelen Garnes (5-11, 200) has made 26 stops so far this season, which is second on the team. Garnes attended Navy out of high school before transferring to Wake prior to the start of the 2021 season.

Freshman Matthew Dennis will handle the place-kicking duties and he is off to a terrific start, having made all eight of his attempts this season including five from 30 to 46 yards. Sophomore Ivan Mora handles the punting and kickoff duties. Mora has punted 16 times and is averaging 40.6 yards per attempt. Half of his punts have resulted in the opponent starting inside its own 20-yard line.

Mora has forced nine touchbacks on 30 kickoff opportunities. Opponents have been aggressive returning the ball against Wake this season having returned 18 of 30 chances this season. However, Wake is only giving up 17.4 yards per return and have given up a long return of just 35 yards.

Wake has been aggressive in the punt return game where it has returned 10 of 22 chances and are averaging 8.3 yards per return with a long of 38 yards by Morin, who has returned nine punts this season. They have been far less aggressive returning kickoffs, where they have attempted just five returns on 20 chances. Ke'Shawn Williams is averaging over 26 yards per return on four attempts.

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